American Exceptualism Rudy
Giuliani was espousing his opinion to Fox News that Barack Obama did not
love America and didn’t brag enough about “American Exceptionalism.”

Fur Is Not Chic When my 25-pound
dog stepped in a toothed steel leg hold trap a few ft off the trail, I
learned how “unchic” fur is. I had to carry her out two miles to get to a
vet.

Which Is More Dangerous? Just
a couple of thoughts I had in response to the letters by Gordon Lee
Dean and Jarin Weber in the Feb. 23 issue. Mr. Dean claims that there
have been zero deaths from the measles in the past ten years.

Real Action on Climate In
“Climate Madness” in the Feb. 9 issue, the writer points out that
scientists are all but unanimous and that large numbers of people agree:
global warming poses a threat to future generations.

Real Science Wolfgang
Pauli, the Nobel Prize winning Austrian-born theoretical physicist, was
known not only for his work in postulating the existence of the
neutrino but feared for his razor-edged humor.

Random ThoughtsGeorge Foster
I know, I know. We live in volatile, topsy-turvy times. What kind of fool would attempt to prophesize in this climate of change? Yet, my confidence in the following forecasts for 2007 is unshakable. Consider each of the following the predictions to be a lock. You can take them to the bank. I guarantee each and every one of them. So, bet the farm on these picks, if you can.Our troops will begin to leave Iraq by the end of 2007. This is true, not because of the Baker Report, not because of growing deaths due to violence, and definitely not because of the new Democratic Congress. President Bush will cut-and-run because Republican Congressmen, who formerly supported the Iraq War, will fire-bomb the White House themselves if the President doesnt eliminate the war as an issue leading up to the next election.The Detroit Lions will finish 8-8 next season. No NFL team can win with the mass of injuries the Lions suffered in 2006. There is nowhere to go but up for the Lions - and they will. GM Matt Millen has finally found the right head coach for the job, but they still need a healthier team for an upswing.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
Tomorrow morning, patriotic Americans will be cheering as the airwaves buzz with the news that 1,500,000 additional troops have launched a second invasion of Iraq to smash the insurgents. The event will go down in history as being comparable to the surprise D-Day invasion of France in 1944.In his autobiography written years later in 2019, former President George W. Bush unveiled the workings behind his top secret plan which surprised the whole world. How, on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006 the skies of Iraq were filled with parachutes and the streets choked with tanks as the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines launched Operation Squawking Eagle. The 1.5 million troops came from bases around the world which were drained of their personnel.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
In the desert of western Sudan, a 35-year-old woman named Hatum is pregnant with the baby of one of 20 Janjaweed raiders who murdered her husband and then gang-raped her. Those are the words of Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times who has spent the past few years trying to rub the western worlds face in the genocide underway in Africas largest country.

Random ThoughtsGeorge Foster
Thank goodness for modern technology. Without the small digital camera that filmed Kramer I mean, Michael Richards, his racial tirade might never have been revealed. If nothing else, our camera-phone obsession should provide a deterrent effect that may help eliminate such acts of racism.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
I used to love flying. Theres nothing like the adventure of stepping onto a jet and into distant places in a matter of hours. But that old thrill has been replaced by dread in recent years and the feeling that the airlines have some grand plan to screw up every flight I take.You too?I know this falls in the whining category, but given the fact that so many of us fly these days to family get-togethers, on business or vacations, it sure seems like there are some broken wings in the airline industry in need of mending.Take our trip to Philadelphia last weekend, for instance. It was a simple trip of a few hundred miles -- Traverse City to Detroit and then to the land of cheesesteak sandwiches. How could anyone screw that up?Northwest Airlines provided the answer. Our flight was delayed half an hour at Cherry Capital Airport because something on the plane was broken -- I believe the pilot said it was the altimeter -- and it had to be replaced.Right away, several people missed their connecting flights.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
It all started more than 1,400 years ago...Imagine an infant born in 569 in old Arabia. Since his father had died afew months earlier, he was given to a Bedouin foster mother to be raisedas a nomad in the desert. She died when he was six. Passed from one poorrelative to another, young Muhammad began to earn his own living at theage of eight as a shepherd. By age 10, he journeyed in a camel caravan toSyria with his uncle. It was the start of his career as a merchant. Hesoon became known for his honesty, charisma and kindness.

Random ThoughtsGeorge Foster
Last Tuesday, tidal waves of Democrats were swept into office by ornery voters in a rebellious mood. As a result, Republicans are now licking their wounds, while Democrats celebrate grabbing control of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.Before you giddy Democrats get too carried away, dont forget that our countrys ideological divide is still about the same. After the floodwaters of this election recede, Democrats will be a slight majority in Congress. Republicans were barely in charge before that. Fed-up voters wanted to make a statement - you can decide what it was.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
My wife and I were quite surprised to get several telephone calls from our State Rep. Howard Walker last week.Needless to say, as soon as we realized that it was a recorded message, we hung up the phone. I think he was calling -- at the dinner hour, of course -- to bother us with the slight virtues of Dick DeVos. Now, I have always thought that Howard Walker was an okay state representative. Unlike some, he doesn‘t seem to get involved with a lot of needless, money-wasting legislation. And I said some good things about him in this column in a prior election for his support on conservation and anti-sprawl issues.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
If I‘m asleep at the wheel when my semi truck loaded with steel goes barreling through a day care at 70 mph, should I lose my job?If I own a pit bull that‘s been trained to kill and I recklessly allow it to run free, am I to blame if it harms a child?What if I‘m a member of Congress and I allow an incompetent president to run amok for six years, piling one disaster after another on my fellow Americans. Do I deserve to lose my job?Yes, I imagine so.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
Wading through the swamp of ballot proposals is one of the toughest things we face as voters. Here is the quicksand of hidden intentions, the muck of double meanings and unspoken disasters which bubble to the surface if the wrong vote is cast.Sometimes, however, a little folk wisdom and common sense can go a long way to unscrambling the most obscure of ballot proposals. Ive applied a few tried-and-true sayings to this years proposals in the hope that they may be helpful:

Random ThoughtsGeorge Foster
If this seasons Detroit Tigers wins the World Series, it may be the most unusual club to do so. Their run through the regular season and playoffs has brought unusual drama to the sport.How can a team stampede toward the World Series only three years after compiling the 2nd worst record in Major League Baseball history? Even a year ago the team lost 19 more games than it won. It would be different if the Tigers spent mega-millions for several stud players before the season, but - no. This baseball team somehow wins without a bonafide superstar.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
Whenever a ballot proposal starts off on a deceptive note, we need to be on guard. Such is the case with the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposal 2, which uses the bait-and-switch approach to wrap itself in the heritage of the civil rights movement while attempting to roll back 50 years of progress for minorities and women.The people behind Proposal 2 have goals which sound lofty -- they claim they are trying to create a colorblind society where everyone is equal. Proposal 2 would end preferences based on race, sex, skin color, ethnicity or national origin in public employment, public contracting and college admissions.If passed by voters this November, Proposal 2 would affect public employment, public education, and public contracting throughout Michigan. Presto-chango: an instant equal society -- all problems solved.But the devil is in the details.

Random ThoughtsGeorge Foster
Most Iraqis now hate Americans and cant wait for us to get the hell out of their country. More alarmingly, the number of Iraqis who feel this way is still growing. If you doubt this fact, as I did, you probably havent seen the latest polls from Iraq, itself. These results hit me like a thunderbolt, but unfortunately didnt attract many headlines in the U.S. The shocking conclusions from the latest independent study shows that 61% of Iraqis approve attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. Not attacks by our troops, they support attacks on the U.S. military.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
Who doesn‘t love the idea of a wall to solve a problem? Last week, President Bush announced that he‘ll sign pending legislation for a new 700-mile wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. It‘s a double-layer steel fence with five segments running along the sensitive areas of our 2,000-mile border where illegal migrants are most likely to sneak through. The $2.5 billion wall will include all the bells & whistles such as 1,800 surveillance towers, extra patrols, unmanned aerial drones, motion detectors, satellites, radar, night vision cameras, etc.

Random ThoughtsRobert Downes
Life hasnt been easy for Sue Ellen Austin Gilmore. Chronic illness, poverty, the dashing of a family business, and now there‘s literally a road of trouble looming on her horizon.She and her husband John have been living on just $8,000 per year for the past three years while he struggled to finish nursing school. Now, they face an assessment of up to $3,000 per year for a road project in Whitewater Township outside Williamsburg that would pave Deal Road where they live. Unless they catch a break from the Grand Traverse County Road Commission, they stand to lose their home of 27 years due to an assessment theyll be unable to pay.But thats just the frosting on the cake for the Gilmores.